East Riding of Yorkshire Council has completed the installation of hundreds of Christmas lights across the 950-square-mile county this festive season, using Aldercote, a Hull-based manufacturer in vehicle-mounted access platforms to carry out the work safely and efficiently on behalf of local town and parish councils.
The decision to invest in Aldercote equipment was driven by the platforms’ reliability, value for money, and versatility – all key requirements for accessing a wide range of festive decoration points at height. Prior to the purchase, the Council faced operational challenges with other access platforms.
“Christmas lights and decorations in the East Riding are mounted on a huge variety of lighting columns, buildings, and catenary wires,” said Will Turner, Senior Engineer for Lighting Operations at the Council.
To meet the challenge required a platform capable of flexible boom positioning, stable outreach and safe access to awkward elevations. The Aldercote VZ 140 model chosen for the project delivers a working height of 14.3 metres and outreach of 9.1 metres, supported by stabilisers for secure operation on varied ground conditions. These measures contributed to a more stable and reassuring working environment, particularly when engineers were handling lighting fixtures, electrical connections or heavy decorations at height.
The Council also reported notable gains in operational efficiency across the programme, thanks to Aldercote’s innovative E-Drive system. E-Drive is a self-charging hybrid electric system that allows the access platform to operate with the vehicle’s engine switched off during operation. It significantly reduces fuel consumption, carbon emissions and noise pollution compared to traditional systems and enables vibration-free, millimetre-accurate positioning.
“Using Aldercote platforms has resolved several of the operational challenges we previously faced when accessing equipment at height,” said Will. “The stability, boom control and safety features give our operatives real confidence, and the improvements in setup time and mobility have made a visible difference to our workflow.”
Beyond performance on site, East Riding of Yorkshire Council highlighted Aldercote’s responsiveness and customer support.
“Aldercote have been very approachable and proactive in understanding our requirements,” Will added. “We would recommend Aldercote to other councils because of their reliability and excellent customer service,”
Following its successful experience with the VZ model, and thanks to the long-term value delivered through fuel and maintenance savings and reduced downtime due to remote diagnostics, the Council has now placed additional orders for new Aldercote platforms.